Unknown (Lipovsky, Marvin)

Original Artwork: Abstract Collage on Handmade Paper

n/p: n/p, n/d. Limited Edition. Single Sheet. This collage was created by hand all the way down to the paper. The craft of hand papermaking saw a resurgence in the art world during the 1970s and 1980s. With pigmentation, shaping, and textures, handmade paper can become a unique canvas for any medium. The papermaking process starts by creating pulp by breaking down any type of plant fibers, usually wood, cotton, or hemp. The pulp is poured into a mold with a screen where the fibers drain and settle to form a sheet of paper. The sheets are then pressed and dried. In the process, sheets can be fashioned into shapes or images to become versatile art canvases, and other materials can be embedded in the pulp like flowers, leaves, or scraps to create a pattern or design. Painting techniques with colored pulps can be used on top of plain pulp with stencils or patterns to achieve unique designs that can then be pressed into a sheet as a work of art in itself. This piece features a confetti-like pattern with darker flecks scattered throughout. The focal point of this piece are cut-up strips of a US dollar bill adhered sporadically across the lower pink area. Whether the strips were embedded or simply pasted is unclear as some are flat and smooth while others are raised. Perhaps both, embedding some and then adding more to create a three-dimensional effect. It appears that the brown area was painted after completion since one of these strips (detached, retained) left a stenciled stripe near the lower right edge. The darker pigment (watercolor, I believe) highlights the microscopic texture of the pressed pulp, appearing almost like a tree again. The right and left edges are bordered with distinct vertical lines, outside of which the paper is a brighter pink color. This may indicate where the pressing was focused because the edges are ever-so-slightly raised. These are lined with a marker as well as the brown pigment. The artist responsible for this unique piece is a mystery though it is signed and numbered. We know they were associated with or admired by the influential American glass artist Marvin Lipofsky (1938-2016) from whose collection we obtained many art prints and exhibition posters, including this one. Single sheet (appx. 11” x 17”): limited edition, signed and numbered along the bottom edge in light pencil; this is number 18 of 20. In relatively fine condition with uncut edges which make it difficult to tell whether or not there are any defects; the dollar bill strips are loose in some areas with one being completely detached, though it has been looped through another to keep it with the rest. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7516]

Price: $75.00